These Kingsmen Wear Gloves When They Dress to Impress

Perhaps nothing worries a coach more than the thought of his players out carousing at night during a critical trip.

So you can see why Cal Lutheran baseball Coach Marty Slimak was distressed last weekend when he saw many of his players standing around in a San Diego hotel, sharply dressed and wearing cologne.

“I said to (assistant David) Chapman, ‘Why are all our guys dressed to the hilt?’ ” Slimak said. “And he said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but the University of Arizona women’s soccer team and the USC women’s soccer team are staying on our floor.’

“And I’m just saying ‘Oh, my God.’ ”

But the Kingsmen didn’t let Slimak down. They beat Point Loma Nazarene, a top NAIA team, and swept a doubleheader from UC San Diego, the team that knocked Cal Lutheran out of the Division III playoffs last year.

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Here comes the judge: United States Auto Club midget racer George Ito has a new nickname.

The mild-mannered strawberry farmer from Ventura has been dubbed “The Judge” for obvious reasons. Moreover, Ito has a beard and is known for his dry sense of humor. But he is no relation to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito, presiding over the O.J. Simpson trial.

“It’s like ‘Smith’ in Japan,” George Ito said of his now-infamous last name. “A real common name.”

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Fast company: Two seasons ago, Cleveland High did not field a track team because it didn’t have a coach.

This year, the Cavaliers might have the top group of boys’ sprinters in the region--Charles Lee, Russel Burwell and Raunaq Savur.

Lee, a transfer from Sherman Oaks CES, has run 10.8 seconds in the 100 meters and a region-leading 21.5 in the 220-yard dash. Burwell has timed 10.9 and 22.1 in the 100 and 200, and Savur has run 11.1 and 22.3 in those events.

The three also have teamed with Damon Williams for a school-record and region-leading time of 42.88 in the 400 relay.

Despite those fast early season marks, second-year Coach Bill Paden expects them to run faster.

“They haven’t peaked yet,” he said. “There’s more there.”

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Out of action: Kevin and Tara Marsden, the talented brother-sister duo from Thousand Oaks High, have not competed during the outdoor track season because each has been diagnosed with mononucleosis.

Although Kevin characterizes the cases as mild, Lancer Coach Jack Farrell is not sure when or if the Marsdens will race this season.

“They’re lucky to be in school,” Farrell said. “Tara’s a junior, so she’s got another year. But it’s too bad for Kevin, this being his senior season.”

Kevin, who finished ninth in the 1994 State Division I cross-country championships, is the defending Marmonte League champion in the 800 meters.

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Gabe Gretzky?: Pitcher Gabe Crecion wears No. 99 for the Chaminade High baseball team. Shortstop Kevin Lohman wears No. 88, catcher Brandon Gray dons No. 75 and first baseman Vince Kolbe is No. 89.

Actually, no player on the entire Eagles’ roster wears a jersey with a number below 50.

Is this a baseball or an ice hockey team?

“We start at 50 and go to 99,” said Coach Denny Barrett, who wears No. 77. “(Jason) Giovannettone, he’s 50 because he’s a little guy. And Gabe, he’s got 99 because he’s the Great One.”

Quotebook

Reseda High baseball Coach Mike Stone, after watching his team lose to North Hollywood, 9-8, Monday in a game in which the Huskies scored two runs on a ground-ball double that bounced off the curb of the track that cuts into the left side of the infield at North Hollywood: “Our shortstop was there to field it, but it shot away from him at a 45-degree angle. It went up the left-field line in foul territory. I thought, ‘Oh, boy. Here we go.’ ”

Stats

El Camino Real High pitcher Mike Conn might not have the stature or the reputation of former ace Randy Wolf, The Times’ 1994 Valley player of the year, but the 5-foot-8, 153-pound junior’s numbers aren’t much different.

After 21 2/3 innings this season, Conn has allowed nine hits, struck out 21, walked two and has an earned-run average of 0.32, helping El Camino Real (5-4-1, 3-3) stay competitive in the Northwest Valley Conference.

The Thousand Oaks High baseball team has been getting exceptionally good pitching, posting a team earned-run average of 1.62 through 12 games.

But the Lancers are 8-4 because the defense has made 27 errors, accounting for 31 unearned runs.

Things to Do

The Cal State Northridge men’s volleyball team will play host to Pepperdine at 7 tonight in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match. The Matadors beat Pepperdine in Malibu, three games to one, Feb. 21.

Compiled by Rob Fernas. Contributing: Darin Esper, Jeff Fletcher, Dana Haddad, Vince Kowalick, Michael Lazarus, John Ortega.